Thanksgiving Leftovers

Best.

Sandwich.

Ever.

Food Porn

I was at the library yesterday looking for a book to read when I stumbled across Thomas Keller's new slate tile-sized, $50 cookbook, "Ad Hoc at Home." I'd already browsed a copy at a book store. Beautifully illustrated and laid out, almost erotic its photography, but way, way too expensive. And knowing Keller, probably containing recipes requiring candied pomegranate and saffron from an obscure region of the Canary Islands.

But check it out of the library, I'm there!

The first thing that strikes you is the sheer size and heft of the book. It's got to weigh four pounds and is bigger than a large serving platter. Cracking it, it has the wingspan of an old fashioned newspaper, the kind that required readers to fully extend both arms to read.

I read the introduction and the cooking tips and advice, and was impressed. Yes, he's one of the greatest chefs in America, famous for turning out impossibly refined and delicious food, but his suggestions for the home cook (this book is supposed to be for the home cook) are surprisingly down to earth and basic. Cook dishes you like repeatedly so that you master them and learn to apply what you learn to variations and other recipes. Always be organized. Don't be measuring out liquids in the middle of a stir fry. Experiment, but try only one new recipe or technique at a time. All good common sense stuff.

Some recipes were involved and time consuming, but others were surprising simple. His burger and barbecue recipes are quick and easy. A cod with breadcrumbs and mustard also looks simple and tasty.

One drawback. The amount of butter and eggs is often mind-boggling. His ice cream recipes, for example, call for 10, that's right, 10 egg yokes. The dumplings for his chicken dumpling soup require 4 tablespoons of butter for just 2/3rds of a cup of flour. A brownie recipe has 3 sticks of butter and three eggs. My arteries are hardening just writing this.

All in all, a serious food porn. Great fun to read, but many recipes are not so much impractical as far too rich for the every day.

Picture of the Day

Saturday, 9:24 p.m.

Pumpkin Pie Extraordinaire

I never ate pumpkin pie growing up. My parents were never big on it, so it didn't appear on our Thanksgiving table.

My wife's family, however, enjoys a good pumpkin pie, so after I got married I finally tasted it. I liked it and have had a piece at Thanksgiving ever since.

All the pumpkin pies I've eaten have been store bought, perfectly round discs with orange filling. So when my wife's friend Cheryl gave her a recipe, we took up the challenge.

I started with my mother's pie crust, which is deceptively simple. For a 9 inch pie crust, freeze a stick of butter for about an hour. This is vital because key to a good crust is keeping the little bits of butter intact within the dough. If you don't freeze the butter, it gets mushy as you cut it and you end up with butter smears into of pieces.

Cut the frozen butter into small pieces (as small as you can get) and work into a cup and a half of flour with 1/4 teaspoon baking power and a pinch of salt. I use an up-and-down motion with a whisk with a bulb on the end. Add six to seven tablespoons of cold water and mix with a spoon and then by hand into a ball. The trick is to use as little moisture as possible to form the ball. The less moisture, the flakier the crust.

Flour the counter and roll out the crust. Shape into a greased a 9 inch pie plate and build up the sides. I was somewhat flummoxed by this. My wife took over. Instead of pressing the crust onto the edges as with an apple pie, you literally build a straight, up and down parapet around the circumference. You want it about an inch high from the bottom of the pie plate. Don't be surprised if you have extra dough.

As I made the crust, my wife made the filling. She slightly beat 2 eggs and then beat in 1 can of pumpkin filling (about two cups), 1/4 cup each of white and brown sugar and maple syrup, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/4 teaspoon cloves and 1 2/3 cup evaporated milk. For extra bite, you can add 1/4 teaspoon of all spice. We did not.

The filling was very thin, nearly as thin as water. Fear not. All is right with the world.

Put your pie plate with the crust on a tin foil-lined cookie sheet in a pre-heated 450 degree F oven. Transfer the filling (it's about four cups) into a measuring cup or other spouted vessel and pour into the shell.

After 15 minutes, lower the temperature to 350 and bake about another 45 minutes. The pie is done when a thin knife in the center comes out clean.

The recipe worked like a dream. The pie was perfectly set after the full baking time, rather amazing considering how soupy the original filling was.

The result: the best pumpkin pie I've ever tasted. Everyone loved it at Thanksgiving.

A huge success. Thank you Cheryl!

Cheese Ball vs. Apple Pie

The New York Times had a fascinating article yesterday on what recipe website traffic reveals about regional Thanksgiving tastes. Much of data was unsurprising. In the days leading up to Thanksgiving, New Englanders typically seek advice on apple pies (we grow tons of apples up here), while southerners are checking out the sweet potato pie recipes.

But corn casserole? What the heck is that? Whatever it is, it's huge on Mid-Western turkey day menus.

And cheese balls are big in a swath of the country's midsection running from Nevada to Ohio. I associate those odd boccie balls of whey, curds and nuts with the 1970s, like fondue pots, wide ties and disco. I had no idea anyone still ate them except as a joke.

Where did this tradition of cheese balls come from? Did they hitch a ride west on covered wagons, leaving a trail of cheese ball culture? The cheese ball trail perhaps?

Sometimes it seems like we're just becoming one giant homogenized mass. It's refreshing to see local food preferences and cultures existing, even thriving.

Happy Thanksgiving

Home-made pies for today's feast. More on the pumpkin tomorrow.

Happy eating.

Turkey Day Prep

With Thanksgiving Day fast approaching, everyone is looking to get ahead of the game. I've already done so, baking dinner rolls this weekend and freezing them. Today or tomorrow, my wife will make her cranberry sauce (far, far superior to the gelatinous red stuff with the can ridges on the side).

In that spirit, Mark Bittman of the New York Times last week published 101 sides, soups, deserts, stuffings, etc. that can made ahead of time, everything from cranberry-orange sauce to pumpkin tofu pudding. As always, the recipes look yummy and sound easy. If you're looking for something new to cook ahead of time, check it out.